Home
Wednesday
Home is where
The flight attendants wish you “Chanukah sameach”
And the airport food is kosher
And the menorahs of the Land could light up a thousand rooms
Thursday
Home is where
The soldiers are our teens
Defending our land in their best years
So we can pray at our holy sites
Get a cup of coffee with a friend
Ride a bus through the length and breadth of our country.
Home is where
A jeeping adventure is also a history lesson
Matching the unparalleled beauty of dunes and rainbows with the homes of Benjamin and Judah.
Friday
Home is where
The outdoor market is jostling with challah, wine, Chanukah paraphernalia, Hebrew trinkets
As Jews, Muslims, international tourists enjoy pizza and pita and photographing each other
As each wishes the other Shabbat shalom.
Home is where we create a circle at the kotel that grows and grows and grows
As we sing Kabbalat Shabbat with unnamed strangers.
Shabbat
Home is where
Shabbat is the day of rest
The hotel serves cholent and has a built-in synagogue
Havdala is musical and inspiring and the guitarist shares family history back to the Yom Kippur war
And even the animals have Hebrew names
Sunday
Home is where
Ein Gedi has history from King David’s life
Masada and her story go back 2000 years yet share our synagogues and mikvehs
and the story of the Dead Sea bespeaks Biblical accounts from 4000 years ago
Monday
Home is where
Two boys from Cleveland come back to
As they commemorate becoming responsible Jewish teens
With shofars and chuppah and tefillin and joy
In front of the kotel where everyone, friends and strangers alike, wish us mazel tov
Home is where we pack food for one another
And where archaeological digs tell the story of our people - our ancestors
Tuesday
Home is where
We care for the disabled and tell their stories in museums
Home is where we bike and walk at sunset along the Mediterranean Sea, the very same sea from the Torah, that was promised to Abraham
As we see all of his children coming home
Wednesday
Home is where the heart is
Home is where you can always come back no matter what
Home is where you can be your most authentic self
Home is where you might fight, clash, feud, but ultimately
Home is where you belong.
Shabbat Shalom,
Ruchi
